Chapter 983: Clever Jokes (Third Update)
Before dawn the next day, Shen Xi asked Jing Yue to mobilize ten officers and soldiers from hundreds of households, carrying flat poles, hoes, and bamboo baskets, and followed him out of the camp to "dig dragon veins". Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ļ½ļ½ļ½Uļ½Eć ļ½ļ½ļ½ļ½
Although the officers and soldiers were inexplicable, everyone had a kind of blind trust in Shen Xi, they felt that Shen Xi might really understand the art of Kanyu Xuankong, and could find the dragon vein water source on the island, and after digging it off, the thief army would collapse without a fight, and they wanted to see how Shen Xi found the water source.
But Shen Xi didn't hold a compass to calculate like those feng shui and math masters, nor did he have any tortoise shells and bamboo sticks, and he didn't even have a fortune-telling copper coin and a small bell, just like usual, he just took people out.
The officers and soldiers who followed behind Shen Xi were a little confused, so that they could find the dragon vein on the island? Is the dragon vein on this island too shallow to hide?
Sure enough, after digging all day, nothing was found, neither the source of the groundwater nor the "dragon vein" was found.
Although the soldiers worked hard, they were basically used to it, who told them to dig pits and fill in the soil after they had nothing to do on the island? Shen Xi's move was purely a blind toss, but the officers and soldiers did not have many complaints, mainly fighting under Shen Xi's command, as long as they obeyed military orders, not to mention the risks, and the military merits and rewards were endless.
As long as you don't fight with the thieves on the top of Yangyu Mountain, let alone digging a pit and moving soil, even digging a mountain is nothing, who knows if this weird-tempered Shen Dufu will have any more bizarre orders next?
In the evening, the officers and soldiers returned to the camp.
Shen Xi inquired about the situation of the camp, and then returned to the big tent of the Chinese army, and Jing Yue and Ma Jiu came over one after another to ask Shen Xi for his next plan of action.
Shen Xi said: "It's already twenty-three...... According to the previous plan, the attack on Yangyu Mountain should be completed in the next two days, and if it cannot be captured again, it is almost time to withdraw the troops. ā
"My lord, are we just going to leave like this?"
Although Jing Yue retreated in the face of the dangerous terrain of Yangyu Mountain, he was not willing to leave a group of thieves to continue to entrench on the island to do evil.
Shen Xi shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Otherwise? Is Jing Deputy Qianhu ready to lead the troops to attack? If you are willing to go, this official will allocate 2,000 people to you, and after the matter is completed, you will be promoted to 1,000 households! ā
Jing Yue swallowed, it was obvious that Shen Xi's proposal was extremely tempting to him.
Victory in a battle can be promoted from the deputy thousand households to the thousand households in terms of position and authority, the second in command and the first leader are essentially different, a guard commander and knowledge, are not as good as a thousand households of a thousand households, in the end there are more than 1,000 soldiers and horses under the hands to be dispatched, and also manage the people of the tundi, the thousand households also have their own territory, and the thousand households are like the emperor of the soil, at ease.
"If you don't want to go, forget it."
Without waiting for Jing Yue to think about it, Shen Xi took the words back, "Spread the word to the whole army, pack your bags, but tomorrow...... Should we find a source of water or should we find it, maybe a miracle will happen? ā
Jing Yue was extremely annoyed when he heard this.
Following Shen Xi has always won battles, it was easy to attack the city and pull out the village in the past, but now it takes a "miracle" to win, which makes people angry. But he has already seen the topography of Yangyu Mountain, and he has already paid the bloody price before tasting it, regardless of the result of the charge, he doesn't even dare to send him to death, let alone those ghost veteran oils?
Jing Yue had no choice but to convey the military order.
From another point of view, Shen Xi's choice to withdraw his troops may be a good thing for the officers and men of the three armies, now that the things that should be robbed have been put on his body, and the military merits that should be fished have also been obtained, continue to go north to fight the thieves, maybe he has captured and obtained more military merits, why bother to fight to the end with a small group of thieves on Nanao Island?
Especially in this kind of terrain where no one can afford to do anything, no matter how many troops there are, it is really necessary to garrison troops on the island for a year? Even if Shen Xi was willing, the soldiers of the three armies would not be happy, and the imperial court would not agree...... Spending so much military spending and supplies is not to make you wait on Nanao Island to have nothing to do.
After Jing Yue left, Ma Jiu looked at Shen Xi, who was immersed in writing, and asked, "Master, do you really want to withdraw the army the day after tomorrow?" ā
"Theoretically."
Shen Xi said, "In fact, there may be other arrangements. Brother Jiu, I want to ask you one thing, what do you think is the purpose of me doing these things today? ā
In Shen Xi's eyes, although Ma Jiu can do things, he is illiterate, and he is a loyal "fierce general" and "skilled worker" around him, and cannot be used as a strategist and staff, but Shen Xi really wants to train Ma Jiu, he found that Tang Yin, a traditional literati, is the best at pursuing advantages and avoiding disadvantages, and will not sincerely work for him.
Although Ma Jiu is not from a military family or a martial arts background, he can be regarded as a loyal domestic servant, and there is no reason why such a person should not be used.
Since Ma Jiu is loyal, in Shen Xi's opinion, he should be rewarded accordingly, that is, he will follow him to soar, and maybe he can leave a name in history in the future.
Ma Jiu said: "Master, the villain doesn't understand very well, but I expect ...... You are trying to lure the thieves down the mountain and move the battlefield down the mountain. Otherwise...... It's hard to attack that mountainous terrain! ā
Shen Xi nodded slightly: "What you said is reasonable, but you didn't get to the point." If you are a thief on the mountain, will you come out of the nest when you see the unknown movements of the officers and soldiers under the mountain today? ā
Ma Jiu thought for a moment and shook his head helplessly.
Even with his wisdom, he realized that this tactic of luring the enemy to attack was too clumsy, and the thieves only had to wait for the officials and troops to withdraw from the cottage, so why take the risk? In terms of strength comparison, even if Shen Xi transferred away ten hundred households of officers and soldiers, there were at least ten hundred households of soldiers left behind in the camp.
Who gave the thieves the courage to let a camp of less than 2,000 men, women, and children with a total population, and attack an officer and army that ostensibly had 4,000 men and horses, and was well equipped, trained, and morale-high?
"Brother Jiu's guess is right, in fact, from the beginning, I never thought that the thief army would attack the camp, even if they were left with an empty camp, they wouldn't dare!"
Shen Xi continued to bury his head in writing, and replied casually.
"Then the old man also took people to dig up the water source...... Can you really find a water source? Ma Jiu nodded heavily after thinking about it, "It must be, the master has always been wise and martial, and it is not difficult to calculate the location of the dragon veins on the island." ā
"Brother Jiu's words are like scolding me...... Alas! If I can really calculate it, I can bring a few dozen people there, where can I use it to mobilize the crowd like this? I'm just trying to show the thieves that the main force of the army has left the camp. Shen Xi said.
Ma Jiu was puzzled: "Didn't the master say that he was not ready to lure the enemy to attack?" ā
Shen Xi said: "Brother Jiu, do you know what is most lacking in the thief camp now?" ā
"Yes...... It's water. ā
Ma Jiudao, "This is what the master said yesterday, the villain is not very clear, but it is expected that there has not been a decent rain for more than a month, and the waterholes on the island are drying up, and we are not very easy to find water sources under the mountain. ā
Shen Xi said: "That's right, Brother Jiu observed very carefully, and this is indeed the case. If the people of the Ming Dynasty are accustomed to accumulating valleys to prevent hunger, then the thieves on the Nanao Mountains are storing water to prevent officials and soldiers. ā
"The advantage of building a camp in a low-lying area is that there is plenty of water, but the defense is very low, and the village can be easily broken. Built on a high place, or a dangerous place like Yangyu Mountain, the camp is very strong, but the problem of drinking water must be considered. There is no shortage of water in the rainy season of Nanao Mountain, and when we came, it coincided with the handover of the rainy and dry seasons, and the rain did not fall, so it was considered to occupy a certain advantage in terms of time. ā
"The thieves on Yangyu Mountain don't know when the officers and soldiers will withdraw their troops, and when they are short of water, they don't think about fighting to the death with the officers and soldiers, but about how to replenish the water."
"I don't need to lure thieves into attacking the camp, I just need to know where there is water around Yangyu Mountain...... When the bandits saw that the defense of the officials and troops was slack, they would definitely try to send people down the mountain to fetch water. ā
Only then did Ma Jiu know why Shen Xixing mobilized the crowd to pull people out to dig the water veins, it turned out that he wanted the thieves to think that there was an opportunity to come out to find water. Ma Jiu suddenly realized: "Master, the villain understands, so will you send someone directly to the water source tomorrow to capture those thieves?" ā
Shen Xi smiled, still shaking his head.
"Brother Jiu is wrong, even if the thieves come out to grab water, it is impossible to come out, only a few people will be sent, and they will come out in batches, the terrain around Yangyu Mountain is empty, and it is relatively difficult to set up an ambush, if we attack, we will be discovered by it, and rush over to catch at most a dozen people who carry water, but then the thieves in the cottage know that this is a conspiracy of the officials and soldiers, and they will not send people out in a short time!"
Ma Jiu thought about Shen Xi's words, it was really like this.
The thieves are now cautious and cautious, and when they send people out to fetch water, they must have selected slaves or low-status slaves in the cottage, and the cottage will maintain a high level of vigilance, so the sneak attack will not work at all.
Ma Jiu said with annoyance: "The villain still doesn't understand ......"
Shen Xi smiled: "Brother Jiu, there are many things you can think through...... Actually, the truth is very simple, you just don't think about it. Since we know what water sources are around Yangyu Mountain, we only need to take advantage of the dark night to poison, ordinary poisons naturally do not work, they carry water back, should not drink it immediately, most of them are added to the water tank, the poison will naturally be diluted, and the toxicity will be greatly reduced, so ...... Leaking pills are most suitable. ā
"Master, in the army...... Where are there so many laxatives? ā
Although Ma Jiu looked relieved, he was still a little worried.
"This is why Brother Jiu doesn't often accompany the army and doesn't understand the situation in the army." Shen Xi asked with a smile, "After marching these days, Brother Jiu didn't feel unwell?" ā
Ma Jiu thought about it, his old face flushed, although he was not sick these days, there was something very troublesome that had bothered him for a long time, not only him, but many companions around him were like this, that is, constipation.
Most of the food eaten during the march was dry food, and even if you buried the pot to cook rice and soup, you could hardly see green vegetables.
Meals are indefinite, and there are no vegetables to supplement vitamins, and many times the war is tight and directly gnaws dry food on the battlefield, and it is strange that the digestive system can stand it.
Shen Xi said with a smile: "Actually, there are always laxatives in the army, but Brother Jiu, you didn't go to tell the logistics people, go back and get some, but don't eat more, otherwise you will be exhausted and your legs and feet will be weak!" ā
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PS: The third update is here!
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